# Should I microwave my sweater? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2002, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579 "2002-12-09T19:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/1 "2002-12-09T19:31:18Z")
Ok, here’s the story. I walk almost two miles (total) to work on either end of a train ride. This morning, as I left my house, it was cold and overcast out so I put on a sweater. But when I got off the train it was raining heavily. I had to miserably walk almost a mile and a half in the rain and I was completely soaked when I got to work. For the last couple of hours I’ve been alternating between sitting here shivering in my shirtsleeves and sitting here shivering in my cold, wet sweater. The idea just occurred to me to use what resources I have available at the office – there’s a microwave in the break room. If I were to put my sweater in the microwave, would it… 1. heat up? 2. dry out? 3. be totally ruined? If I do decide to go with this inventive plan, what setting should I use on the microwave? High? Medium? Defrost? Popcorn? And for how long? In case it matters, the sweater is 100% Cotton. Your help is appreciated. I’m freaking freezing here, and my options are pretty limited. “Waiting it out” for the clothes to dry on their own is looking less and less tolerable as the minutes go by. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/2 "2002-12-09T19:35:42Z")
If your sweater was wool, it would still be warm, as wool is the only natural material know that stays warm when wet. So, your sweater is probably synthetic–i.e. a spun plastic fiber like dacron or rayon. If you microwave it, it will melt. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/3 "2002-12-09T19:46:05Z")
if it is 100% cotton, and free of ANY metal, go ahead and nuke it for about a minute. I do that to socks to warm them up (talk about toasty tootsies!) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/4 "2002-12-09T19:50:27Z")
Whether it’s going to heat up or melt, I say nuke it. Not just anybody can claim that their sweater melted. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/5 "2002-12-09T20:00:21Z")
I microwaved a wet cotton t-shirt in a convenience store microwave many many years ago. It took about 20 times at 30 seconds each and then it still had wet patches. It also had some burned spots. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/6 "2002-12-09T20:27:11Z")
Yikes. The sweater’s definitely all cotton and no metal, but I’m not too interested in having it turn out with some scorched spots. Then again, I’m not interested in sitting here and freezing my buns off, either. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/7 "2002-12-09T20:43:09Z")
Maybe nuke your buns? 15 seconds usually works for me. Make sure you wrap 'em in a paper towel. Oh. You were talking about your ass. Sorry, carry on… ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/8 "2002-12-09T21:16:22Z")
Don’t microwave the sweater, it’ll just end up hot and wet. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/9 "2002-12-09T22:21:14Z")
Microwaves heat water. Period. If you want the water in the sweater to boil, nuke it - it will get nice and hot - and still be wet. You need to get the water to evaporate, not boil. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/10 "2002-12-09T22:36:55Z")
Just put it in the oven. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/11 "2002-12-09T22:45:20Z")
Just have sex. That’ll warm you up. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/12 "2002-12-09T23:53:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*CRorex \*\*\* > Don’t microwave the sweater, it’ll just end up hot and wet. I’m pretty sure that’d be preferable to my current situation. **happyheathen** , that was what I was afraid of all along. That and the crazy boiling water having weird reactions with the fibers of the sweater. **Zebra** , unfortunately, while that would be the ideal solution, I don’t at present have the kind of resources available that I would need to put that plan into action. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/13 "2002-12-10T01:34:36Z")
are there any machines you could drape the sweater over? copiers? perhaps drape it over your monitor? do any of the women in the office have a hair dryer? there are always one or two women in my office that have a hair dryer in their emergency drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/14 "2002-12-10T02:52:42Z")
A little travel iron - you could iron some of the wetness out? In any case why don’t you experiment with a pullover that you do not care about - that will give you an idea of what to xpect. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/15 "2002-12-10T02:56:09Z")
Second thoughts - couldn’t you wear a kagoule or similar light rain jacket? ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/16 "2002-12-10T20:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by happyheathen \* > \*\*You need to get the water to evaporate, not boil. \*\* It’s a minor nitpick, but evaporation and boiling are essentially analogous–water goes from a liquid form to a gaseous form. The difference is how quickly the process occurs. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-microwave-my-sweater/141579/17 "2002-12-10T20:28:22Z")
Or, you could take an extra sweater to work with you and take off the wet one and put the dry one on when you get to work.